September
24
ELA 20: Sept 24 Common errors in essays / Comma usage / “Should’ve Been…” poetry writing…
- Students did a great job with their reflective essays recently completed. We reviewed with a handout, though, some of the more common errors made with essay writing in the Sr. English classes. Many of the errors were not ones I found in their essays but reminders are always helpful.
- We, next, looked at a review of comma usage and when and where it applies. Some of it seemed to be review for them as well and they seemed to understand carefully the examples given. It will come in handy soon when we do a paragraph writing assignment designed to incorporate the eight types of comma usage that we covered today.
- Once that was out of the way, we moved on to their next assignment. They are to write a poem that comes with a set structure. They are to choose a certain role of something related to childhood. It can be a parent, sports player, sister, student, etc. In the first four stanzas, they are to describe the ideals of that role, the ideal look, skills they would have, actions they would take, and thoughts they would have. In the final stanza, though, the tone changes when they describe the reality of that role, no longer what the ideal example of that role would be. If done carefully, they can create some really moving poems.
- Several examples were read to them of poems written by my students from last year. Three or four poems should be enough guidance to help clarify what is asked of the assignment and its focus; the final stanza’s tone should really turn the poem around. This poem, the class decided, will be due next Monday, October 1.